Improved mouse-trap



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ASAHEL A. HOTCHKISS, OF SHARON, CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 101,620, dated April 5, 1870. l

IMPROVE!) MOUSE-TRAP.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To whom it may concern.-

Beit knownthat I, Assaut A. Ho'rcumss, ot Sharon, in the county ofLitchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a newvand usefulImprovement in Mouse-Traps, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawingforming part of this specification,land in which- Figure 1 represents atop view of a mouse-trap constructed iu accordance with my improvement;A

Figure 2, a transverse section of the same, taken as indicated by theline :t a: in

Figure 3, which represents an under view of the trap.

Similar letters' of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention has for its main object the saving in fthe construction ofmouse-traps of stock and labor, which, when these articles are made' inlarge quantities, it becomes an important consideration to economize.

The improvement consists in a certain recessing of the block of thetrap, whereby, as in the case oi' an ordinary round mouse-trap providedwith a series of holes, I am enabled to get a larger number of holes inthe same diameter of block, which saves stock; also, the number oflborings in making the trap is reduced; likewise, the necessity forclinching of the springs to secure them is avoided.

Also, the invention consists in a novel construction of bait-bolder, bymaking the same, at its bait-holding end, of wire, twisted to receivethe bait through it, but so that the bait cannot be detached therefromby the mouse, as so frequently is the case with an ordinary hook.

In the acompanying drawings- A is the block of a round mouse-trap, ofordinary construction in its general features, that is to say, beingprovided with a series of holes a, made in the bottom of the block,accessible by apertures b'froLn the exterior, for the mice to enter;also, being provided with the usual springs c, holding-down orsetting-wires d thereto, killing-loops d', and bait-hooks or holders e.

In making such traps it isl usual to make acentral bore through theblock whereby to chuck or hold it; also, in addition to boring the holesa and b, to recess or cut away the block at the backs of the holes a forthe purpose of clinching the ends of the coils c of the springs, whichrequire to be thus held by reason of the strain on the springs and theabsence of support ,to them, as vusually arranged ou the top of theblock.

This recessiug at the backs of the holes a` is also necessary to prodefor the packing of the traps, by allowing the projecting coils of onetrap to enter such 'recess in another trap. Not only is the cligching ofthe springs a tedious or laborious and uncertain operation,

` but the recesses at the backs of the holes a involves additional work,and so cuts into-the block as to re'- duce the number of holes, a, thatmight otherwise be got into the block.

In thetrap, as here represented, there is no center hole inthe block,but an annnlargroove, f,-or, in the case of a verysmall trap,cylindrical recess without a center boss is made inthe top of the block,and a reduction, g, made in it below, leaving a solid center.

This recessing maybe said to be equivalent, in point of labor, to theboring of a center hole, but while the groove .f answers the purpose ofa center holel as regards chucking or centering the block whereby tobore the other holes, it also serves to receive within it and to supportthe coils c of the springs, so that they not only only preseutnoprotuberauce -to interfere with packing of the traps one upon the other,but the ends of them require no clinching, mere insertion of said endsinto the blocks sucing. This reduces labor as regards securing thesprings, and the saine have more than t-he usual stiffness given them;also the forming of recesses at the backs of the holes a, hereinbeforereferred to, is dispensed with, so that I am enabled to get a greaternumber of holes a in a given sizedblock; t-hus the ordinarysize forafour-hole block now makes tive; and by doing away with said recesses atthe backs of the holes a I save four borings in a five-hole block,counting the reduction g as a boring. In this wayI economize both stockand labor; also any number of traps may be close packed one upon theother.

Instead of a hook, the bait-holder I prefer to use is shown` at e or e',and which consists in giving the baitholding end of the wire, orattachment thereto, a spiral form, either of a tapering or straightcharacter, so

that the bait, such as soft cheese, may be enteredA through it (fromabove or below) and squeezing through the spaces between the spirals, beprojected below and made to conceal said end of the wire, but eectuallypreventing alike the dropping oi of the bait or its removal by the mousewithout releasing the spring c with which such bait-holder is connected.

WVhatishere claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of the coiled portions c' of the springs within arecess or groove, f, made in the upper surface of the block A,substantially as and for the purpose or purposes herein set forth.

2. In combination with the above, the bait-heldere or e made of wiretwistedto form a series ot' coils at its bait-holding end, essentiallyas specified.

. A. A. HOTCHKISS.

`Witnesses:

E. VINCENT, NEWTON I-IEBARD. l

